Student Tour Blog

Written by Abigail VanOene

To put it simply, since we found out about the trip we knew June 6 would hold a lot of weight. June 6 marks D-Day, the day that 82 years ago Operation Overlord was put into action, the allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy to launch an assault on the Nazi-occupied France. This day marked the beginning of the end in many ways, and coming together with people from many different nations to take part in the ceremonies to commemorate it was an experience I will always remember.

For us it was an early start, we woke up and made it to the first ceremony at the Canada House on Juno Beach at 0800. This was the first time we saw Juno beach, as well as the Canada House. This house is very significant because it was the first to be liberated by the Canadians on June 6, 1944 and, as such, it plays an important part in Canadian military history. For me, seeing the beaches and the house while listening to the speeches was a surreal experience that started to make the stories of D-day come alive. As we heard at the end of each speech, “we will remember them” rings true not only on June 6, but will continue to be something to think about once we go our separate ways after the trip. Once the speeches were finished, Brandon and Julia had the honours of laying a wreath on behalf of the Canadian BattleField Foundation.

As soon as the first ceremony came to an end we headed to our second one of the day at Juno Beach Center. Here the 82nd anniversary of D-day was commemorated through another beautiful ceremony. It included a speech by the Canadian ambassador, Nathalie G. Drouinm, as well as a musical presentation by the Nova Scotia Royal Mounted Police Pipes, Drums and Highland Dancers. This ceremony was quite a bit bigger than the first one, and once again a lot of people participated by laying wreaths. Hannah and Chance had the honours of laying wreaths on behalf of our group. Despite wet and rainy conditions, the overall experience was one to remember.

After both ceremonies were over we had the afternoon to reflect and spend time together in the city of Bayeux. We spent a lot of time exploring the city and voted the Cathedral as our favourite part.

-Abigail VanOene (University of the Fraser Valley)